Need help with a 9 day trip please (2 adults)

[joejccva71]

So I thought I had this in the bag, but as it turns around I'm making it too complicated and I'm all over the place. I probably should have just left it to the travel agent to do but I wanted to try to schedule this myself as I thought it was part of the fun.

Trip details:
9 day trip including travel days, Sunday 5/13/2018 thru Monday 5/20/2018.
2 adults, both in mid-late 40's.

I created a spreadsheet itinerary and it needs some love. I ended up making it way too complicated because I started to snag ADR's and was basing my days around those. Dining is a major part of our trip as we want to experience the best signature restaurants as much as we can, but I don't want it taking over our trip either, and the more I look at it the more I think I'm going to be running all over the place trying to meet ADR reservations and it's frustrating me a bit.

I have attached a screenshot of the itinerary. If anyone has any advice I would most certainly appreciate it. I figure some people like doing this so they could see this as a "fix it project" or something? Thanks in advance guys.

 

[DisneyJoe]

We have done trips like that in the past, but eventually realized that a table service lunch and a table service dinner on the same day, (unless the lunch was early i.e 11am and dinner was 6pm or 7pm or so), just filled us up too much. We changed our strategy to either TS breakfast and TS dinner with a light snack for lunch or a light QS lunch (sometimes sharing food) - or just a single TS meal per day.

 

[Minnie Mum]

We've always found that things go more smoothly when we make our ADRs fit our park days, not the other way around. By park hopping so much to meet your ADRS, you're losing a lot of time you could have spent in the parks. I also noticed that you have no evening time in AK. Too bad, because it's awesome at night, and you could have dined at Tiffins, their signature restaurant.

Since you have late afternoon resort time scheduled, you can shower and change clothes for dinner those evenings. But I should point out that you are unlikely to have much, if any, Epcot time on the nights you're eating at Flying Fish or Yachtsman. Signature dinners frequently stretch to 2 hours. So when are you going to see Illuminations? Cross your fingers that you get lucky with a window view at LA Hacienda?

 

[joejccva71]

We've always found that things go more smoothly when we make our ADRs fit our park days, not the other way around. By park hopping so much to meet your ADRS, you're losing a lot of time you could have spent in the parks. I also noticed that you have no evening time in AK. Too bad, because it's awesome at night, and you could have dined at Tiffins, their signature restaurant.

Since you have late afternoon resort time scheduled, you can shower and change clothes for dinner those evenings. But I should point out that you are unlikely to have much, if any, Epcot time on the nights you're eating at Flying Fish or Yachtsman. Signature dinners frequently stretch to 2 hours. So when are you going to see Illuminations? Cross your fingers that you get lucky with a window view at LA Hacienda?

All the things you mentioned were some of my main concerns. The La Hacienda window spot. Also going to Hacienda at 7:30 hopefully them letting us stay there for the fireworks? Maybe if I keep ordering drinks.

But yea I think I need to change and just pick days for parks and then plan dining around the park days like you said. Right now I have it the other way around.

I just need to do some major adjusting to this plan. I want to be at AK at night and some have said that with Pandora addition, you can easily spend 2 days at AK.

 

[DisneyJoe]

I want to be at AK at night and some have said that with Pandora addition, you can easily spend 2 days at AK.

We usually spend 2 half days at AK - one day we'll start at rope drop and go until just after lunch, and another day we'll head to AK in late afternoon and stay until close.